The present invention relates to controls for household appliances and in particular for control providing a visual indication of the setting of the control.
Dial controls, for example, those used on a cook top, provide an operator (such as a knob) for controlling the heat setting of the burners of the cook top. Most simply, the position of the knob provides a visual indication to the user of the particular setting selected by the user.
Sometimes it may be desirable to provide an electronic display indicating the state of a burner apart from the position of the dial control. For example, a light may be used to indicate that the burner is in simmer mode on a gas-stove top when this might not be apparent from the position of the control dial. More generally, the light may provide a high visibility indication that one or more burners have been left on.
Conventional incandescent lamps or gas discharge lamps (e.g. neon lamps) are often used in this application. Such lamps are rugged, can be powered directly with line voltage readily available in the appliance, and are resistant to the high temperatures associated with cook top use. Unfortunately the colors and shapes of such lamps are limited and thereby constrain the ability of the designer of an appliance to produce attractive and functional control consoles.